Tent stake



March 11, 1969 A. H. SIMPSON 3,431,924

I TENT STAKE I Filed Jan. 19, 1967 FIG.I. FIG.2. FIG.3.

INVENTOR. ALDEN H. SIMPSON ATTORNEY.

BY g

United States Patent 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A ground-inserted device for anchoring the tie-down line of a tent, canopy or other standing article to be guyed having a coil spring for receiving the tie-down line, a long and a short extension or leg on either end of the coil spring for insertion into the ground, and a leverlike arm connecting the short extension to the coil spring, whereby laterally and upwardly directed pulling force on the tie-down line is translated by the coil spring and lever to a laterally and downwardly directed pushing force 0 the extensions thereby resisting pull-out.

Background of the invention Field of the invention.Ground inserted pegs, stakes or fastenings for guying portable lodges, tents, canopies or similar structures.

Description of the prior art-The tent stakes presently known to me are either heavy or complicated in their structures so as to be expensive to make and difficult to install and/or remove (i.e., most tent stakes require the use of a bar or claw hammer or hatchet to install and/or pull them out of the ground); or are flimsy in their constructions and unrelialble in their use in that they will not hold firm in all types of soils wherefore frequent reguying is required.

Summary of the invention The invention relates to tent stakes or the like used to anchor the tie-down lines for guying tents, newly planted trees, canopies, and other standing structures, such as awnings, dining flys and cabanas.

Primary objects of the invention are to provide such a device which is inexpensive in its manufacture, simple in its structure and reliable in its use.

Another object is to provide a tent peg which will not only resist pull-out, but which actually digs deeper into the ground as lateral force is applied thereto through the tie-down line.

Still another object is to provide a tent stake which may be reliably used in any type of soil, from hard, packed earth or baked clay, to loose soil or sand.

As another feature worthy of particular note, my tent stake may be installed or removed easily (usually by hand), wherefore its upper extremity remains smooth. The prior art stakes, in contrast, must in many instances, be struck so heavily and repeatedly with a hammer or other heavy instrument in order to drive them into the ground that their upper ends become sharp and jagged, which ends present a definite hazard to the hands or bare feet.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a tent stake embod'ying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof as seen from the left of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof as seen from the right of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a broken side elevational view showing the manner of use of the tent stake of the invention;

3,431,924 Patented Mar. 11, 1969 hoe FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a stabilizing device for use in conjunction with the tent stake of the invention, when the tent stake is to be employed in sandy or very loose soil; and

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view showing the manner of use of the stabilizing device of FIG. 5.

Description of the preferred embodiments The device of the invention is designed to securely and positively anchor the tie-down line of a tent, canopy or other standing article to be guyed. Herefollo wing, it will be referred to as a tent stake for purposes of brevity.

The tent stake is formed from a single length of resilient metal wire, such as spring steel, or from a strong resilient plastic and is preferably, but not necessarily, of approximately one-quarter inch in diameter to provide a strong anchor.

The wire is formed along its length into a series of spiral windings 10 to provide a central coil 12 in the nature of a coil spring having a main extension 14 depending generally vertically from one of its ends and having an offset arm or lever 16 extending angularly downwardly from its opposite end, said arm having an integral auxiliary extension 18 extending generally vertically downwardly therefrom in spaced, substantially parallel, relationship to main extension 14.

The distal ends of the extensions 14 and 18 may be slightly tapered as at 20 to facilitate insertion of the tent stake into hard soil, clay or the like.

The preferred manner of use of the tent stake is illustrated in FIG. 4, the tent stake 'being installed initially in normal soil by hand followed by a moderate downward pressure of the heel or instep upon the coil to drive the tent stake home. In exceptionally hard soils, a small mallet may be used.

As shown, the tent stake is preferably inserted into the ground G at an angle, with the lower ends 20 of the extensions 14 and 18 pointing in the direction of the object to be guyed and with the offset arm 16 being disposed in close proximity with and substantially parallel to the level of the ground.

The tie-down line T from the tent or other article to be guyed is passed through or fastened to the spiral windings 10 formed by the coil 12.

The extensions 14 and 18, in the preferred manner of use, preferably are disposed at an obtuse angle relative to ground level so that the tent stake may be said to lean away from the article to be guyed, thereby effectively resisting pull-out.

The main extension acts as the anchor point and the pull of the tie-down line on the tent stake is transferred through the coil and offset arm to the auxiliary extension, thereby forcing the auxiliary extension to dig more deeply into the soil.

Stated in another way, the auxiliary extension reinforces the main extension and the offset arm 16 acts as a lever transferring the laterally and upwardly-directed pulling force of the tie-down line upon the coil into a laterally and downwardly-directed pushing force upon the extensions and, consequently, upon the tent stake.

The pull of the tie-down line is partially transferred by the offset arm to the auxiliary extension with the coil allowing both extensions to flex and to dig into the ground.

The spring-like nature of the coil additionally imparts added resiliency to the tie-down line.

The tent stake, while resisting pull-out in the direction of force applied to the tiedown line, offers no resistance to force along the axes of the legs, whereby it may be quickly and easily removed even from hard soil or clay by hooking the fingers in the coil and pulling upwardly.

When tent stake is to be used in extremely soft soil or loose sand, it may be desirable to employ a stabilizing device such as that shown at 30 in FIGS. 5 and 6 to further resist pull-out.

Such stabilizing device may be termel a snap-on blade in that it is somewhat blade-like in construction and is formed from resilient metal or plastic, whereby it is adapted to be releasably afiixed or snapped on to the auxiliary extension.

The stabilizing device is formed with a central semicircular, vertically-extending channel 32 of appropriate radius to be snapped on to the extension and to securely grip same.

Coextensive with channel 32 and extending angularly outwardly therefrom are a pair of leafs 34, 34, which leafs are slightly tapered at their lower ends, as at 36, to facilitate insertion into the ground.

The stabilizing device is snapped on to extension 18 in the manner shown in FIG. 6 and is preferably disposed on that side of the extension which faces the article to be guyed.

The stabilizing device is substantially V-shaped in crosssection and when it is snapped on to the extension, the

blades 34, 34 open outwardly from the extension in the direction of force applied to the tie-down line thereby more firmly anchoring the tent stake.

If desired, the stabilizing device may be used on the main extension or the auxiliary extension, or in extreme conditions, on both the main extension and the auxiliary extension.

I claim:

1. A tent stake or the like for anchoring the tie-down line of a tent, canopy or other standing article to be guyed comprising:

(a) a coil spring for receiving the tie-down line;

(b) a main extension on one end of the spring and depending vertically therefrom;

(c) a lever comprising an arm on the other end of the spring extending angularly outwardly therefrom toward said main extension and extending therebeyond;

(d) an auxiliary extension integral with the lever and depending vertically therefrom in spaced parallel relation to the main extension;

(e) wherefore, upon insertion of the extensions into the ground so as to be inclined away from the article to be guyed and upon the application thereon of a laterally and upwardly-directed pulling force by the tie-down line, the coil spring and the lever translate such upwardly-directed force into a downwardly directed force on the extensions to resist twisting and to drive the extensions more deeply into the ground.

2. A tent stake or the like according to claim 1 including stabilizing means releasably affixed to at least one of said extensions for further resisting pull-out in loose soil or sand.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 9,005 12/1879 Carpenter --1S 1,555,322 9/1925 Kleinhesselink 13515 3,199,520 8/1965 Cawood 13515 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner. 

